for some time, he went to Kalavryta. 16.7 But we, with our lord and master, kyr Konstantinos, came by the other road to Vostitza. For even though the despot kyr Theodoros did not become a monk, so that all his territory would remain for his brother, kyr Konstantinos, yet even so he gave Vostitza to him, and in the other part, all that the protostrator Phrangopoulos ruled, I mean Androusa and Kalamata and Pedima and Mani and Nisi and Spitalin and Grempenin and Aetos and Loi and Neokastron and Archangelos and many others; which I, having been sent, received from the aforementioned protostrator. 16.8 And in the same year, on the 4th day of the month of March, the despot kyr Andronikos died, who was renamed Akakios through the divine schema; and he was buried in the monastery of the Pantokrator, in which he had been living.

17.1 Of a secret plan, known only to me from my lord and master, that we should go against Patras; and if we should take it, behold, we would find ourselves in the Morea and his territory, that of the Black Sea, that is, would be given to his brother the emperor. But if we should not take Patras, we would go back to the City, and he would have here in the Morea the castles of his dowry and there his territory of the Black Sea, that is; and the castles given by the despot would again be given as the emperor decides. This also followed, which was in part a confirmation of the secret plan. 17.2 As we were passing from Vostitza by way of Patras, in order to go to Glarentza and Chloumoutzi, where the empress was, Andronikos Laskaris Padiates was sent to the archons in Patras for some services; and while he was waiting there, a priest and some laymen met with him privately about whether his master wished, they had a way to make him take Patras. But when Laskaris came and told, along with other things, the secrets of the Patrenes, it was dismissed as impossible and superfluous both by the one who heard and the one who spoke. 17.3 Therefore, the same Laskaris was sent as kephale to Androusa, and indeed the other archons as kephalades to the castles there, but also the first of the archons of his household, Laskaris Alexios, had received Vostitza as his kephale and remained there. 17.4 As we were passing through, as I have indicated, the despot and my lord, with me alone carrying out the business concerning Patras, and while we were in Glarentza, we wrote many times to those whom Padiates had met on this matter, and they wrote back to us many times, but they judged our proposal impossible, as time also showed. 17.5 Finally we decided that we should go and, during the night, be found at a place near the end of the vineyards of the Patrenes themselves, called Treis Ekklesias, since they had also been of old <ἐκεῖσε>; and there the men would be found and would declare at length what had been written; and if these things were possible, they were to be carried out, but if not, we were to go openly and besiege the castle and let come what may. 17.6 And behold, we wrote orders to all those in the region of Androusa, that on the 15th of the month of March of the same year they should come with arms and with the majority of the men of the domain of each one of them, so that with due propriety the new lord of that land might pass through the territory of the prince and go to the area around Androusa; likewise Laskaris from Vostitza was informed. 17.7 But when they came, as we mounted our horses and did not take the road by the Alpheios, but the one on the left, they were amazed and said to one another, asking: Where are we going? And having come to the agreed upon place around the hour of the cockcrow and finding the men and seeing them both ineffectual and saying ineffectual things, we sent them away. And as day broke there, we were deliberating what should be done; the army to ride forth to capture the

μέχρι τινός, ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὰ Καλάβρυτα. 16.7 Ἡμεῖς δὲ μετὰ τοῦ αὐθεντὸς ἡμῶν κυροῦ Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ δεσ πότου διὰ τῆς ἄλλης ὁδοῦ ἤλθομεν εἰς τὴν Βοστίτζαν. Καὶ γὰρ εἰ καὶ καλόγερος οὐ ἐγένετο ὁ δεσπότης κὺρ Θεόδωρος, ἵνα ἀπομείνῃ ἅπας ὁ τόπος αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν κὺρ Κωνσταντῖνον τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' οὖν καὶ οὕτως δέδωκε πρὸς αὐτὸν τὴν Βοστίτζαν, καὶ εἰς τὸ ἄλλο μέρος, ὅσα δὴ ἦρχεν ὁ Φραγγόπουλος πρωτοστράτωρ, Ἀνδροῦσαν λέγω καὶ Καλαμάταν καὶ Πήδημα καὶ Μάνην καὶ Νησὶν καὶ Σπιτάλιν καὶ Γρεμ πένιν καὶ Ἀετὸν καὶ Λωῒ καὶ Νεόκαστρον καὶ Ἀρχάγγελον καὶ ἕτερα πολλά· ἃ καὶ σταλεὶς ἐγὼ παρέλαβον ταῦτα παρὰ τοῦ ῥηθέντος πρωτοστράτορος. 16.8 Καὶ τῷ αὐτῷ ἔτει ἐν μηνὶ Μαρτίῳ δ-ῃ, τέθνηκεν ὁ δεσπότης κὺρ Ἀνδρόνικος, ὁ διὰ τοῦ θείου σχήματος μετονομασθεὶς Ἀκάκιος· καὶ ἐτάφη ἐν τῇ τοῦ Παντοκράτορος μονῇ, ἐν ᾗ καὶ κατέμενε.

17.1 Βουλῆς δὲ ἀποκρύφου, μόνον εἰς ἐμὲ οὔσης παρὰ τοῦ αὐθεντός μου καὶ δεσπότου, ὅτι νὰ ἀπέλθωμεν κατὰ τῆς Πάτρας· καὶ εἰ μὲν ἐπάρωμεν αὐτήν, ἰδοὺ νὰ εὑρισκώμεθα εἰς τὸν Μορέαν καὶ ὁ τόπος αὐτοῦ ὁ τῆς Μαύρης δηλονότι θαλάσσης δοθῇ πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν βασιλέα. Εἰ δὲ οὐδὲν ἐπάρωμεν τὴν Πάτραν, νὰ ὑπάγωμεν ὄπισθεν εἰς τὴν Πόλιν καὶ νὰ ἔχῃ ἐνταῦθα εἰς τὸν Μορέαν τὰ τῆς προικὸς αὐτοῦ κάστρη καὶ ἐκεῖσε τὸν τόπον τοῦ τὴν Μαύρην δηλονότι θάλασσαν· τὰ δὲ δοθέντα παρὰ τοῦ δεσπότου κάστρα πάλιν νὰ δοθῶσιν, ἔνθα ὁ βασι λεὺς διακρίνει. Παρηκολούθησε καὶ τοῦτο, ὅπερ ἦτον ἀπὸ μέρος βεβαίω σις τῆς ἀποκρύφου μελέτης. 17.2 Ἀπὸ τῆς Βοστίτζας διερχόμενοι διὰ τῆς ὁδοῦ τῆς Πάτρας, ἵνα εἰς τὴν Γλαρέντζαν καὶ τὸ Χλουμοῦτζιν ἀπέλθωμεν, ἔνθα καὶ ἡ βασίλισ σα, ἐστάλη Ἀνδρόνικος Λάσκαρις ὁ Παδιάτης εἰς τοὺς ἐν τῇ Πάτρᾳ ἄρχοντας διά τινας δουλείας· κἀκεῖσε προσμείναντος, συνέτυχον αὐτῷ ἰδίως καὶ ἱερεὺς καὶ λαϊκοὶ περὶ τοῦ, ἂν θέλῃ ὁ αὐθέντης αὐτοῦ, ἔχουσι τρόπον, ὅτι νὰ ποιήσουν νὰ ἐπάρῃ τὴν Πάτραν. Ἐλθόντος δὲ τοῦ Λάσ καρι καὶ εἰπόντος μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ τὰ τῶν Πατρηνῶν ἀπόκρυφα ἀπε πέμφθη ὡς ἀδύνατα καὶ περισσὰ καὶ ἀκούσαντος καὶ λέγοντος. 17.3 Σταλεὶς οὖν εἰς κεφαλὴν εἰς τὴν Ἀνδροῦσαν ὁ αὐτὸς Λάσκαρις, ἔτι δὲ καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι ἄρχοντες εἰς τὰ ἐκεῖσε κάστρη κεφαλάδες, ἀλλὰ δὴ καὶ ὁ πρῶτος τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ ὁσπητίου αὐτοῦ ὁ Λάσκαρις Ἀλέξιος εἶχε λαβεῖν εἰς κεφαλάτικον τὴν Βοστίτζαν καὶ ἐναπέμεινεν ἐκεῖσε. 17.4 ∆ιερχόμενοι, ὡς δεδήλωκα, τοῦ δεσπότου καὶ αὐθεντός μου μετ' ἐμοῦ καὶ μόνου ἐνεργοῦντος τὸ περὶ τῆς Πάτρας, εὑρισκομένων εἰς τὴν Γλαρέντζαν, ἐγράψαμεν πολλάκις πρὸς οὓς συνέτυχον περὶ τούτου τὸν Παδιάτην καὶ ἀντέγραψάν μας καὶ πολλάκις, πλὴν ἔκρινον τὸ παρ' ἡμῶν ἀδύνατον, ὡς καὶ ὁ καιρὸς ἔδειξεν. 17.5 Τέλος ἐστήσαμεν, ἵνα ἀπέλθωμεν καὶ νυκτὸς οὔσης εὐρεθῶμεν εἰς τόπον πλησίον τοῦ τέλους ἀμπελίων αὐτῶν δὴ τῶν πατρηνῶν εἰς Τρεῖς Ἐκκλησίας ὀνομαζόμενον, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἦσαν παλαιόθεν <ἐκεῖσε>· ἐκεῖσε δὲ εὑρεθῶσι καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι καὶ δηλώσωσιν εἰς πλάτος τὰ διὰ γραφῆς· καὶ εἰ μὲν δυνατά εἰσι, νὰ ἐνεργηθῶσιν, εἰ δ' οὖν, νὰ ἀπέλθωμεν φανε ρῶς καὶ νὰ ἀποκλείσωμεν τὸ κάστρον καὶ ὡς φέρῃ τὸ φέρον. 17.6 Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγράψαμεν ὁρισμοὺς εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἐν τῇ περιοχῇ τῆς Ἀνδρούσης, ὅτι τῇ ιε-ῃ τοῦ Μαρτίου μηνὸς τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔτους ἵνα ἔλθωσι μετ' ἀρμάτων καὶ τῶν πλειόνων ἀνθρώπων τῆς ἀρχῆς ἑνὸς ἑκάστου αὐ τῶν, ἵνα μετὰ πρέποντος διέλθῃ τὸν τόπον τοῦ πριγκίπου καὶ ἀπέλθῃ εἰς τὰ περὶ Ἀνδροῦσαν ὁ νέος αὐθέντης τοῦ τόπου ἐκείνου· ὁμοίως ἐμηνύ θη καὶ Λάσκαρις ἀπὸ τὴν Βοστίτζαν. 17.7 Ἐλθόντες δέ, ὡς ἐκαβαλλικεύσαμεν καὶ οὐδὲν ἐπιάσαμεν τὴν πε ρὶ τὸν Ἀλφειὸν ὁδόν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀριστεράν, ἐθαύμαζον καὶ πρὸς ἀλλή λους ἔλεγον ἐρωτῶντες· Ποῦ ἀπερχόμεθα; Ἐλθόντες δὲ περὶ τὸν συμ φωνηθέντα τόπον περὶ ὥραν ἀλεκτροφωνίας καὶ εὑρόντες καὶ τοὺς ἀν θρώπους καὶ ἰδόντες αὐτοὺς καὶ ἀπράκτους καὶ ἄπρακτα λέγοντες, ἀπε πέμψαμεν. Ἐξημερωθέντες δ' ἐκεῖσε, βουλευόμενοι τί ἄρα νὰ πραχθῇ· τὸ φωσσάτον νὰ πηλαλήσῃ νὰ αἰχμαλωτίσῃ τοὺς